Local taxpayers left out-of-pocket over police merger plans

4.02.28pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 14th Sep 2006

Michael German AM says Gwent Police should be refunded the whole cost of the abandoned all-Wales police merger plans.

A leading National Assembly Member has today called for the Home Office and UK Government to refund all costs in the recently abandoned plans to abolish Gwent Police and merge it into one all-Wales police service.

Speaking today, local Assembly Member, and leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats in the National Assembly, Michael German said: "There are no figures publicly available yet on the cost of the botched merger plan to Gwent Police. We can guess it come to several hundred thousand pounds as North Wales Police have estimated their bill to be around £400,000."

The Home Office wanted to merge all four of Wales' police forces, including Gwent, claiming that they were each too small to deal with fighting crime as effectively as larger ones, such as the Metropolitan Police in London.

Leading opponents, including Mr. German, opposed the merger on the grounds that the costs of the plan would leave a large deficit in the police forces' budgets. "I always feared that community policing would be sacrificed for something little more than an administration exercise."

"The Home Office and the Labour Westminster Government says that they will consider any request from individual police forces for a refund of the costs of this failed project. This isn't good enough for local council tax payers who are presently picking up the tab for a botched idea, and getting a double whammy of paying for nothing."

Mr. German added, "The Labour Westminster government should now confirm the costs with Gwent police and refund them without delay."